June 8, 2017

The picture below is one I’ve taken at each season of the year, I took this one this morning. It’s a sidewalk that runs parallel to the railroad track and it just looks inviting to me. One of these days I’ll stop and walk as far as it goes and back again.

The picture reminds me of adventure and I suppose adventure calls out to many of us…those who accept the challenge seem to live more fulfilled lives (just my opinion).

But those who are willing to set out on an adventure seem more open to experience life to it’s fullest. That’s one reason I like following Jesus, he leads through adventure.

Many years ago, I didn’t really think of following Jesus, I thought – and was pretty much taught – that Jesus was the ticket to heaven, punch that ticket and when you die you’ll see Jesus in heaven…along with all those other folks who believed the same way.

But when I became more interested in God through the Scriptures, Jesus began to appear. I think that’s interesting because I begin my serious Bible reading in the Old Testament in the book of Joshua, hardly a place to find Jesus.

Long story short I was led through Acts and then Paul’s letters in the New Testament, and from the witness of those Adventurous believers I began to see Jesus in a different light. Jesus was one who affected life in the now – not someone to keep me safe and take me to heaven when I die – but someone to follow, someone to listen to, someone to trust – today. Jesus began to teach me to move closer to him and learn from him.

And the more that happened, the more people began to look different, and there began to be this urge to help other people understand that Jesus is much more than a protection agency. Jesus is a way of life that leads and inspires, and calls us to action day to day…presently not sometime in the future.

So when I read a couple of weeks ago about Jesus calling his disciples friends because all that he learned from the Father he had made known to them (John 15:15)…it began to make sense to me that friends of Jesus are the ones who follow him without regard to personal interest, people who continue to love as they are loved by God, people who absorb Jesus such that they see as Jesus sees.